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The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has filed a lawsuit seeking to block Paramount’s $81 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, arguing that the proposed merger would harm writers and reduce competition across Hollywood.
The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday by the Writers Guild of America West and the Writers Guild of America East, contends that the deal would weaken the US entertainment industry by concentrating too much power in a single company.
According to the complaint, a Paramount-Warner merger “threatens the economic and creative health of the American entertainment industry.”
The union argued that combining the two media giants would reduce the number of major employers for writers, giving the merged company greater leverage to lower pay, cut jobs and commission fewer productions.
“This proposed combined entity would be the largest employer of writers, with tremendous power to suppress our wages, eliminate opportunities for emerging writers, cut jobs across the industry, and produce less programming,” WGA East President Tom Fontana said in a statement.
If completed, the merger would unite two of Hollywood’s remaining legacy studios.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s assets, including HBO Max, CNN, and franchises such as Harry Potter, would be combined with Paramount’s CBS network, Paramount+, and film franchises such as Top Gun.
The WGA alleges that the deal violates US antitrust laws by reducing competition in three key markets for writers: episodic television and streaming series, television writing agreements, and screenwriting for major theatrical releases.
Paramount, now owned by Skydance, rejected the union’s claims, saying the merger would create more opportunities for writers rather than fewer.
“A stronger Hollywood only means something if it’s stronger for the writers who power it,” the company said in a statement.
The company also reiterated its commitment to releasing at least 30 films annually with a 45-day exclusive theatrical window, maintaining two separate film studios and continuing to commission projects from independent production companies.
The lawsuit adds to growing legal opposition to the merger.
According to the Associated Press, the WGA’s filing came a day after a coalition of 12 U.S. states, led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, sued to stop the acquisition, arguing it would “extinguish competition” in Hollywood and leave consumers with fewer choices.
The states urged Paramount and Warner not to complete the transaction until the court had fully considered the case. After the companies declined, the coalition sought an emergency court order to temporarily halt the merger.
Paramount dismissed the states’ allegations as “wrong on both the facts and the law” and said it would “vigorously defend” the acquisition.
The legal challenges could delay Paramount’s efforts to complete the deal, which the companies had hoped to finalise during the third quarter of this year.
The merger is also undergoing regulatory reviews in the European Union and the United Kingdom, while authorities in the United States, China, Canada and Australia have already cleared the transaction.
Including debt, Paramount’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery is valued at about $111 billion.
